Reminders
by glaceon
Summary: He thinks about the beach, then Dawn's beloved Empoleon, then Dawn herself and finds himself attracted to the lighthouse more than ever; because it's where they met. But he didn't need anymore reminders. Gameverse — beaconshipping
1. reminders

They're nothing but pointless reminders –

* * *

"Thank you, Dawn," he murmurs as she turns the corner to leave the Sunyshore Gym. "It was a real pleasure battling with you."

She spins around and flashes him the brightest grin he's ever seen before sprinting out the door. Among those few diminutive seconds in which all he feels is bliss, and the solitary time afterward, he has to remind himself that she is only _ten_.

* * *

The next time he hears of her, she's the Champion of Sinnoh and it tugs at his heart. Because she _was _ten, and she defeated him and Flint and Cynthia and a _whole entire evil organisation_; but that doesn't stop him from worrying.

He bites his lip harshly and continues watching the news in bittersweet melancholy.

* * *

Volkner's thoughts eat him up inside as he looks down from his perched gym at the beach. Jasmine is still there, and she had been for quite a while.

He thinks that she's waiting for Dawn, too, but he has nothing to go off of. Maybe she's just interested in the minerals on the beach? He's heard that steel types like it on Sunyshore's beach.

He thinks about that, and Dawn's beloved Empoleon, then Dawn herself and finds himself attracted to the lighthouse more than ever.

Because it's where they met.

* * *

He is genuinely surprised one day when Flint wanders up to his Gym at the highest peak of Sunyshore and waltzes in the door like he visits often, which he doesn't, of course. Once every six months –

not that Volkner can blame him, being in the Elite Four must be hell on your social life

– and declares that he needs to 'get out of his rut and meet a few girls'. There's a party down at the Valor Lakefront Hotel and he chooses to go, not because Flint is dragging him out the electric-charged door, but because he genuinely wants to just forget.

He's even more surprised to see her there, soaking up all the glory of being a Champion. She looks tired, though, and he keeps telling himself that he's helping her, giving her a moment to herself as he drags her away from the cameras and microphones and her adoring crowd.

As they sit on the edge of the lake, their feet dipped into the icy water of Lake Valor and talk about her adventures, he wonders if she thought about him at all.

And as she slips her small hand into his, he knows she did.

But he pulls away.

Because she's ten, and her hands are so small and dainty and _childlike_.

But then she goes and looks up at him with those deep, navy blue eyes and she looks every bit like the very Champion she is titled as. But behind that, she is simply a girl who had grown up far too fast, and who just wanted to the world to slow down and allow her time to sit by the lake and hold hands with the man she admires.

He feels guilty as he stands. "I'm sorry," he whispers hoarsely, and it feels like it's been _so long_ since he's _really truly_ talked. "I'm so sorry."

He leaves and she stays there with her cold feet in the lake, as silent as the air around her, alone because she's ten and a ten year old shouldn't be _with_ someone.

He tells that to himself hopelessly and won't stop repeating it in his head as he walks away, all the way back to his Gym, to his big, lonely Gym on the highest peak of Sunyshore's cliffs.

He tells himself that she's just a reminder of what he can't have.

Of what he'll never have.

* * *

He is everything she's ever wanted –


	2. remembers

He is everything she's ever wanted –

* * *

Jasmine talks rather fondly of him, Dawn realises.

This man that is the leader of Sunyshore Gym: the shining, shocking star.

He is strong and loyal to his friends, and to his city. He's an excellent trainer, who protects fiercely.

He is handsome and charming.

But he has lost his way.

Jasmine smiles sadly and shakes her head.

She says that not even the Vista Lighthouse has a shine bright enough to light up his world anymore.

Dawn silently vows that she will change that.

* * *

Dawn vividly remembers the very first time she saw Volkner.

The afternoon Sunyshore sun bounces off of the water, off the solar panels, off the glass in the lighthouse. The light makes his hair seem even more golden in the sunshine.

The glare flashes into her eyes briefly, and she squints. When she opens her eyes again, he's looking at her curiously. He says something about challenging the Pokémon League if she gets defeated, and she is momentarily overcome by the forlorn look in this stranger's eye.

She briefly considers loosing, if only to give him an excuse to try and get his spark back.

She wins anyway, and clutches the Beacon badge in her hand nervously afterwards.

His joyous laugh as she leaves make her relieved she won.

* * *

The next time she meets him, it's been a few months and she has done so much in the interim.

He stands proudly next to Flint in front of the Battle Frontier and challenges her to a battle. She may just be imagining it, but to her it feels as though he doesn't really want to battle _against_ her. Just maybe he wants to battle _with_ her.

The thought alone sends shivers down her spine and causes her mind to become light as air. She opens her mouth to suggest it, but Barry interrupts.

She doesn't mind.

The double battle between her and Barry, and Volkner and Flint is explosive.

She smiles when her side wins, and watches with bittersweet happiness as Volkner laughs with Flint about a 'bad move combo' during the match.

He gives her his number when they part ways, and asks for another rematch in the future.

She says her villa is always open to guests.

His smile sparks a lightning storm in her heart, and she knows she's lost.

She knows that she will have to confess eventually. She is not the type of girl to keep it bottled up. So she will tell him.

_Eventually._

* * *

Her heart beats furiously in her chest when she sees him approaching her during the Valor Lakefront Hotel party. It's been a few months after the double battle, and she can count the amount of times they'd met up since on her right hand.

If anything, it only makes her heart beat faster. Makes the storm rage harder. Makes the Butterfrees flap quicker. She is a girl hopelessly in love with a man twice her age, and she can't do a thing to stop it.

He takes her hand in his softly, pushing his way through the fray of people vying for her attention, and she knows she will always choose him over fame and fortune, no matter the circumstances.

They stop at Lake Valor, and she dunks her feet in the tepid water. She spots a school of Goldeen and Seaking below the surface, and tries to focus on them instead of the sound of her rapidly beating heart. She's amazed he hasn't noticed yet.

She's so nervous that she shakes slightly, so she swings her feet back and forth in the water to distract herself, disturbing the Pokémon below. Hesitantly, she places her trembling hand over his, and takes a deep breath in, waiting for his reaction.

He apologises.

* * *

He is nothing she is going to cry over –


	3. forgets

He is nothing she is going to cry over –

* * *

Dawn does not consider herself a silly girl. She prides herself in being poised, intelligent, and proper in all aspects of her life. She often remembers back – not too far into the past – to when she was just a precocious child defeating an entire evil organisation and becoming the Champion of the Sinnoh region.

Dawn is perpetually old.

Dawn is not a ten year old at heart.

Dawn is beyond her years, with the experience to match.

'Perhaps that's why it hurts so badly,' she thinks to herself forlornly. 'I've never... experienced_ this_.'

She had felt like her feelings could have been reciprocated by the man she looks up to. That he would see _her_, and not her age. She thought he knew her better.

Though, in retrospect, it hadn't been the most thought out idea she'd ever come up with. It was up there with the '_let's scale Mt. Coronet to face Cyrus alone_' level of bad ideas. These types of decisions were actually a perfect reflection on her age, a thought that often made her stop and think.

But not this time, apparently.

This time, she is in nothing more than simple shock.

"Thank you, Volkner," she whispers into the air as he leaves Lake Valor, making sure that he is just out of range so he couldn't hear her desolate murmur.

She silently tells herself that she isn't quite sure why she's saying thank you. Thank you for being a gentleman? Thank you for being polite about shooting her down? Thank you for not blowing up in her face and calling her out?

But she knows why she's saying thank you.

'Thank you for all the things you didn't do.'

Dawn gracefully pulls her feet out of the icy water just as the Magikarp begin to nibble at her toes. She brings her legs up close to her body, and wraps her arms around them before gazing up at the clear night sky.

Dawn knew what had just occurred.

She would not delude herself into thinking that she hadn't just been rejected by the one man she looks up to more than any other.

Of course, she can always desperately try to forget that the incident ever happened, or that her intentions were simply misconstrued in the worst possible way.

But Dawn most certainly isn't the Champion for nothing. Dawn cannot delude herself. It isn't in her to do so.

Dawn doesn't just blindly train her beloved Pokémon. She didn't become the Champion on faith and luck alone. To become the Champion a person must have intelligence on their side, or at the very least, common sense.

Dawn has both in spades. Dawn is the Champion of the Sinnoh region, and she is a household name all over the world.

But Dawn is still only a ten year old, and it is only because of her sheer stubbornness against showing her sadness and mortification outside the safety of her own bedroom does she not begin to cry right there.

She is strong, and smart, and victorious, but she is _still_ a ten year old girl who had lain out her feelings to a man much older than she. A man she had only encountered a handful of times beforehand.

"I'm so stupid," she hisses to herself, and brings her hands to her face. "So, so stupid."

She wills herself not to cry.

But the sting starts to set in.

The painful hurt that only comes hand in hand with rejection.

The sharp throb that works its way up from the stomach, to the throat, to the eyes.

Tears start to trickle down her face, but she refuses to wipe them away.

"The first boy I've ever confessed to," she murmurs desolately.

* * *

Later that night, when she comfortably wraps herself up in the warmest blanket at the villa, she faintly remembers sitting there for hours, just looking out at the still water of Lake Valor, reminiscing on old memories.

Her first Pokémon capture, all on her own.

Her first Gym battle win – Roark was no pushover. It took her a week of training in _Oreburgh Mines _before she could finally defeat him.

And her first Team Galactic fight.

She momentarily wonders where Cyrus is, but puts the thought out of her mind immediately. No need to think about yet another troublesome male in one night.

The ten year old girl tugs the blanket over herself even more and snuggles into the couch.

She briefly wonders if the party was still going on. She sneaks a look at the clock on the wall. It wasn't overly late... surely there were still some people there.

She wonders if Volkner is still there. Maybe hanging out with Flint, or talking to other girls.

_Older_ girls.

She quickly reminds herself that he was never one for parties; this aspect of him had been displayed quite prominently at Hearthome's annual festival. She had met up with Flint, and quietly requested where Volkner was. The Elite Four member chuckled and explained to her that he was most likely still at his Gym, brooding.

Dawn smiles despite herself. Personally, she loves parties. The bustling people, the food, the dancing, the music, the overall celebration of such an event worthy of a gathering... it makes her eyes light up and her head become lighter. The best ones were the ones in honour of her, if she said so herself. After all, what ten year old girl _didn't_ want a party just for herself?

She stops her thoughts and sighs.

"I really am a child," she whispers into the darkness of her villa. A cold chill creeps across her body as she feels the weight of the evenings events fall down upon her,

crushing her,

suffocating her.

"What have I done? I made a complete _idiot_ out of myself and I've _ruined_ our friendship!" She cries out, only the emptiness hears her.

Dawn sits up frantically and throws her head into her hands.

She fights back a wail. The only thing holding her tears back was the thought that crying now would _certainly_ make her seem like a child.

"He probably hates me now," she whimpers. "I should... fix this somehow. Make it better."

The girl stands up and paces around the room, paying to attention to where she is walking.

"But how will I face him."

"I made such a fool of myself."

"I should forget him, but should I really?"

"I bet he's forgotten me."

"I'll just forget him! For the better."

Dawn whispers to herself over and over, already feeling the crush upon her lungs at the declaration. "Yeah, I'll just... forget Volkner. Then he won't even have to deal with me anymore."

A deep breathe in. A rapid blink.

"I'll... forget him."

* * *

She is everything he's ever needed –


End file.
